Home Archive by category "News" (Page 8)

Category: News

Are you all registered to vote?

Is everyone in your household on the electoral register?   London will be electing a new Mayor on 5 May 2016 and we will all get a chance to vote on remaining in or leaving the European Union on 23 June. Make sure you can vote! The rules have changed so each person has to register individually. You can check whether you or members of your household are on Lambeth’s register by phoning 020 7926 2254 or emailing electoralservices@lambeth.gov.uk. To register go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.  You will need your National Insurance Number. It only takes five minutes. To vote in the Mayor of London and Assembly Members elections you must be registered to vote by midnight Monday 18 April. If you haven’t applied by then, you won’t be able to vote.   DON’T LOSE YOUR VOICE! DON’T LOSE YOUR VOTE!

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Our Rents for 2016-17

  UPDATE 14 April 2016 – KPE RESIDENTS – MAKE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR SERVICE CHARGE, RENT AND DIRECT DEBIT NOTIFICATIONS CAREFULLY. WE HAVE FOUND A NUMBER OF ERRORS! Contact your TA reps (see contact details in the right-hand column) if you need help in understanding these bills.  ****************************************************   Tenants will have received a notice from our landlord, Hyde, this week notifying us of the amount of rent due from 4 April 2016. The TA considers this notice misleading, to say the least, as it gives the impression that tenants will have to pay less than we currently pay. This is very unlikely to be the case because we pay service charges on top of our rents. Last year some residents saw their service charges nearly double and the TA has no expectation that they won’t be increased again this coming year. Indeed, most residents have already been informed (in the…

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The Housing and Planning Bill – Planning Changes

The plans set out by the government in the Housing and Planning Bill are shocking, and Joan has covered the threats wonderfully in her blog. The Bill includes changes to the Town Planning system that purport to increase the opportunity for development on brownfield land.  But what about the definition of brownfield land?  In my mind, I see a flat, empty disused site with nothing in it, that could possibly use some development, so that sort of sounds ok… Let’s check that definition, in the Department for Communities and Local Governments’ Technical Consultation document: “Brownfield or previously developed land is defined in Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework. Sites on brownfield registers will be required to meet this definition of previously developed land. This is a very broad definition and, apart from the exclusions, covers all land in England where there are or have been buildings or other development.…

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Kill the Housing Bill!

Opposition to the Housing Bill is building. The Chair of KPETRA, Joan Twelves, has written a blog post about it, explaining the devastating effect it could have on residents of Kennington Park Estate. It can be found by clicking here or https://joantwelves.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/the-great-london-clearances/         More actions against the Bill are being planned and details will be posted here.

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Mayoral candidates don’t join housing debate

Laziness is not a quality that people want to be associated with.  That’s why this jab by Zac Goldsmith towards fellow mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan sounded quite effective: http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/14257857.Zac_Goldsmith_brands_Sadiq_Khan__lazy__over_affordable_housing_debate/?ref=rss But it seems that when it really comes to it, yesterday both were too lazy to both show up to a key debate about housing in this city: http://www.theplanner.co.uk/news/mayoral-hustings-on-housing-to-go-ahead-without-khan

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Half-term activities – Wednesday 17 February

Hornby Art Club All ages & families welcome – Wednesday 17 February 11-2.30: Free Hornby Art Club visit for KPE children & families to meet artist in residence Evelyn O’Connor (just for us!) at Beaconsfield Gallery & visit the new Newport Street Gallery. Refreshments provided. Meet Hornby House 11am. Links below: Beaconsfield http://beaconsfield.ltd.uk/projects/evelyn-oconnor-alchemy/ Newport Street Gallery http://www.newportstreetgallery.com/

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Central Hill

“This time it is the estates that replaced those Victorian streets that are being destroyed. It turns out that, if some of these estates are as bad as myth has it, others were thoughtfully and beautifully designed, whose problems, if any, are often due to their being poorly looked after by the local authorities who own them.” http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jan/31/council-estates-if-they-arent-broken-lambeth-council-central-hill-estate-social-housing-affordable?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Central Hill is a housing estate in Upper Norwood (Lambeth Council) that has been getting growing coverage in the media, and from groups such as Architects for Social Housing.  The controversy surrounding the estate seems, at times, completely at odds to the apparent reality of the estate itself. https://architectsforsocialhousing.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/central-hill-community/ https://architectsforsocialhousing.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/in-defence-of-central-hill/        

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